The present invention relates to the field of automatic tennis ball serving machines. Such machines are used for practice purposes, to serve a ball to a single player for improving the player's game. When activated, balls will be served automatically from the machine one after another in different directions both with respect to the trajectory of the served ball and its lateral displacement.
Many ball serving machines are known in the prior art, for example the machine disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,857 issued June 17, 1980 and the patents cited therein. These machines attempt to serve balls to a player for practice purposes. However, none of these prior art machines are completely satisfactory in all respects. Many of the machines are too large, having no mobility and result in serving the ball repeatedly to the same area. Other smaller, lighter machines which vary the direction of the ball to a certain extent, are of only very limited performance. None of these machines serve a ball in a random direction both in respect to the height of the served ball and its lateral displacement.
It has become necessary to invent an improved apparatus which will obviate these deficiencies of the prior art. In particular, a lighter, more portable and compact less expensive apparatus, which will randomly vary the direction of the served ball is needed. This invention meets those needs.